‘Pathaan’ to release in Bangladesh

Bollywood blockbuster Pathaan is set to have a historical theatrical release in Bangladesh.

The Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone film was a huge success, grossing £103 million worldwide.

It made its way onto Amazon Prime Video and now it will have a theatrical release in Bangladesh.

This is a historic moment because while Bollywood films are popular in the country, they have not been released in Bangladesh since the country’s formation in 1971 in a bid to protect the country’s local film industry.

In 2009, the decision was relaxed to allow Wanted to open in the territory.

However, the release was met with protests that were led by a local film industry organisation. It led to the film being pulled from the 50 cinemas it was running in after just one week.

In February 2023, a consortium of 19 Bangladesh film associations decided to allow Hindi-language films to release in the country and suggested that 10 films release a year.

Pathaan will become the first Hindi-language film to have a wide theatrical release in Bangladesh.

The film will release on May 12, 2023.

Expressing his happiness on Pathaan‘s release in Bangladesh, Nelson D’Souza of YRF said:

“Cinema has always been a unifying force between nations, races and cultures.

“It transcends borders, galvanises people and plays a significant hand in bringing people together.

“We are incredibly thrilled that Pathaan, which has done historic business worldwide, will now get a chance to entertain audiences in Bangladesh!

“Pathaan becomes the first Hindi film to release in Bangladesh post-1971 and we are thankful to the authorities for their decision.”

“We have learnt over the years that Shah Rukh Khan has a tremendous fan following in Bangladesh and we feel Pathaan, our latest offering from YRF’s Spy Universe, is the perfect first film of SRK and Hindi cinema to release in the country and represent Indian culture and cinema in its full glory.”

Pathaan is the highest-grossing film of YRF’s Spy Universe which also includes blockbusters like Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai and War.

Salman Khan also had a special cameo in the film as Tiger.

Pathaan marked Shah Rukh’s successful comeback to the silver screen after four years.

It also brought a much-needed respite to the dry spell at the box office with only a very few films turning out to be commercial hits.